November 04, 2020 Emmett Ramstad Meet the artists of the 2020 MCAD Faculty Biennial My sculptures and participatory works explore body maintenance and the intimate collectivity of public space. By re-purposing and re-orienting familiar and mundane materials—socks with holes, generic tissue boxes, bathroom stall components, towel dispensers, and drop-ceiling tiles—my sculptures draw attention to bodily rituals and needs that often go unmentioned in art contexts. In this moment of tremendous personal and political division about who belongs where and what bodies can or cannot do, I am curious: Can we relate to each other despite individual differences through a collective language of care? About Emmett Ramstad Emmett Ramstad’s sculpture and participatory works investigate the infrastructure of daily life by modifying the scale and function of familiar household objects. Ramstad lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ramstad has exhibited artworks nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Rochester Art Center. He is a recipient of numerous grants and fellowships including a Franconia Sculpture Park Fellowship, Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists, a Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Next Step Award, a Forecast Public Art Research and Development Grant, and an Art and Change grant from The Leeway Foundation. He has performed in productions by The BodyCartography Project, made costumes and sets for five touring contemporary dance productions, and has curated and organized numerous gallery shows. His work is in collections at The Minnesota Museum of American Art, The Weisman Art Museum, University of Michigan Library, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and Second State Press. He is currently a lecturer at University of Minnesota and MCAD. Explore more about Emmett Ramstad